Hot goaltending and a hungry underdog have derailed the play-off aspirations of many a skilled hockey club and the Orangeville Crushers are no exception. Last season, the upstart Crushers did exactly that, defeating heavily favoured Couchiching in the opening round of the play-offs.

This year would see Orangeville again playing in an opening round that would see the upstarts defeat the favorites. Unfortunately for local hockey fans, it was the Crushers that had the tables turned on them as the Streetsville Derbys knocked off Orangeville in the opening round of the CCHL play-offs, taking their best of seven series 4-2.

Too the surprise of many, Streetsville found themselves firmly behind the controls of the series heading into game four last Wednesday night in Etobicoke.

Leading 2-0 at the end of two periods it looked their was only minutes left in the Crushers season but Orangeville was not done yet. Early in the third Trent Hawke managed to put some spark into the Crushers offence, scoring unassisted to keep within striking distance. Turning up the heat, they were all over the Derbys and finally, with 1:52 left in regulation time, Tyson Fawcett combined with Norm Ezekiel and Stephen Beyers, tying the game at two and sending it into overtime, where it was Beyers scoring the game winner to keep the Crushers hopes alive for another night.

Playing back home Friday night at the Alder Street arena, it looked as if the Crushers had finally turned the tide on Streetsville.

Nicholas Vassos opened the scoring early for Orangeville and they never looked back from there with Beyers, Hawke each adding markers to give the Crushers a 3-0 lead after one period. In the second, Beyers and Hawke would again find the range with Streetsville finally getting on the board with two of their own. Early in the third, Vassos notched his second of three to send Derbys goalie Eric Szymczyk to the showers. Krystian Yorke combined with Cody Britton on a power-play goal at 4:55 before Vassos sealed off the score-sheet with 7:30 left to play, making it a 8-2 final score for Orangeville.

Game six action found the teams back on the Westwood Rink and the Crushers looked like they were going to pick up where they left off the night before with Yorke opening the scoring for Orangeville just under four minutes into the game.

Unfortunately though for the Crushers, Szymczyk was back in the zone, frustrating the Orangeville shooters time and time again.

Bouncing back, Streetsville pocketed a pair of goals before the end of the first then added another late in the second before Britton would get one back to end the second with Streetsville leading 3-2.

Orangeville came on gangbusters in the third outshooting the Derbys 3-1 in search of the equalizer.

Szymczyk with a bit of help from the crossbar, continued to turn away shot after shot as the clock wound down the minutes until the final buzzer sounded to end the Crushers 2009- 2010 season.